Meet Sophie. She is 15 and 1/2 years old, probably a poodle/terrier mix, and, if you ask my vet, some dachshund, too (ok....she is pretty long...) I found her on Petfinder.com at the Richland County Dog Warden's in Mansfield, OH when she was 8 years old. I tell her that it took me eight years to find her. It was worth the wait, as she is a TERRIFIC dog. Apparently, she was dropped off at the dog warden's, and her name was originally FeeFee. My husband couldn't deal with that, and I didn't really like it, but I felt bad changing it after eight years. We decided that "Sophie" was kind of close to "FeeFee" (yes, that's the way it was spelled, too...probably some foreshadowing of the vet bills to come...) and it suited her, so we called her "Sophie."She is super smart, gets along with other dogs, does pretty much whatever you want her to whenever you want her to do it, and is ridiculously cute. She does snore, even when not actually sleeping, and in her later years she has taken to raiding the pantry whenever the door is left ajar. She doesn't eat much when that happens, but she does hide throughout the house anything she can carry. She will do anything for food, and she will go to great lengths to find it. She loves car rides and walks, and she could find the best pillow in a warehouse full of pillows, and then claim it for hers. She is the only dog that I've ever really "dressed" because I honestly thinks she likes it. No one can rock a bee costume or an Ohio State hoodie like Sophie.

Most recently, Sophie battled cancer. Thanks to the good people at Annhurst Veterinary Hospital (especially Dr. Mark Harris) in Westerville, OH and at the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Sophie is winning her battle. She had two surgeries to remove the tumor (a squamous cell carcinoma on her mouth), fifteen months apart. After the second surgery, she had a three-week course of radiation. We started her on chemo, too, but had to stop due to some negative effects. She finished her radiation last November and so far, so good. She is a very special dog, and I hope to have her with me for quite a while yet.

Go Bucks!

She doesn't even mind the headgear...I mean, really....

Yes, those are my bed pillows. It's a good thing she's cute, right?

I will introduce you to my other dog, Teddy, in the next entry. I hope you'll come back to meet him!